PICASSO | HUGO : AGENTS D'ARGENT ET D'OR

Masterpiece Art is delighted to present an exhibition featuring a rarely seen full-set of twenty-four limited edition silver platters — the fruits of a collaboration between Picasso and the celebrated Ateliers Hugo, Aix-en-Provence, France. Each of the limited-edition works feature a different design, which draw upon three recurring themes in the Spanish artist’s oeuvre — bullfighting, Jacqueline Roque and Henri Matisse.

In anticipation of interest — a full-set never being publicly exhibited before in the United Kingdom – the show will run from 19 November 2020 until 20 February 2021.

Says Executive Gallery Manager and Sales Director, Alex Cousens: ‘Picasso’s ceramic work is well known and justly celebrated, but his collaboration with François Hugo was hugely important to him. He took a deep interest in the creation of these platters, the problem-solving nature of the collaboration and this challenging new medium. We are privileged to be able to bring together under one roof an entire edition of these sublime artworks, along with many other rarities. The photography of Edward Quinn is particularly evocative of Picasso, and offers a sense of time and place, especially as it shows Picasso enjoying his platters at Villa La Californie.’

Showing alongside the platters, another UK debut, will be an incredibly important twenty-fifth platter, a ‘progenitor’ platter once belonging to Picasso and acquired from his descendants. This silver platter, Visage aux Mains, stamped Empreinte Originale like the ceramics, hails from the small number of silver platters made for Picasso’s personal collection between Dec 1956 – March 1958. Further supplementing this will be gold medallions and a full-size gold platter from the collaboration, a set of 13 gold bijoux by Jean Cocteau and François Hugo, comparative ceramic platters, archival materials, as well as photography by the famed Irish photographer, Edward Quinn. Picasso created a large volume of ceramics and crockery in numbered editions, but only issued silver platters in 24 designs throughout his entire oeuvre, designing an even smaller number of pieces in gold.

The exhibition is supported by Ateliers Hugo, Aix-en-Provence, France and the catalogue written by Dr. Clare Finn, author of "The Decorative Metalwork of Pablo Picasso; his collaboration with François Hugo", unpublished PhD Thesis, Royal College of Art, London, 2004.

Note: due to Covid restrictions, the exhibition is viewable by appointment only from the 2nd December 2020.

Entry is free of charge. Contact: alex@masterpieceart.co.uk